Polish finale of the Young Car Mechanic Contest

20 April 2018

We got to know the three contestants, who during the Poznań Fair Motor Show presented the highest level of know-how and were the most effective in repairing malfunctions on cars, by this ensuring them a pass to the great international finale of the Young Car Mechanic.

Young Car Mechanic is and international contest of know-how and skills meant for pupils of secondary technical schools. In this year's edition there were 19 schools involved, which are participating in Inter Cars Young HR programme, an initiative supporting vocational schools and their graduates.

The whole of the qualifying round of this or that year’s edition was divided into four stages. The first two were realized remotely and 600 young adepts took part in them. The second stage tested 300 people, of which ten finale participants were selected using a knowledge test. It was them who were fighting for main rewards in the national finale of the Young Car Mechanic Contest

said Radosław Sujka, Training Manager at Inter Cars.

Contestants, who turned out to be the best in Poznań – Jakub Koncewicz, Paweł Smolaga and Bartłomiej Januszewski – won a pass to the International Finale of the Young Car Mechanic Contest. On the 14th May they will fight with their peers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Germany. The rivalry seem to be very emotional, the total value of rewards for the first three places in PLN 100 thousand. Additional attraction is the fact that all the participants of the international finale will be invited to Elring factory for sightseeing, shall also visit the museum of Mercedes, and the organizers are also planning a visit the Porsche museum.

Strategic partners of the Young Car Mechanic Contest, including Bosch and Erling, provide attractive prizes and support from the very beginning of the contest to the international finale

For the second year we have been supporting Inter Cars at the occasion of the contest, to which we had a very positive attitude from the very beginning. Last year we were present only at the international finale, but this time we are also supporting local contests, we were a partner during Lithuanian, Polish, Latvian and Estonian finale, and on 14 May we will also be in Cząstków Mazowiecki at the great international finale. A task prepared by our company was the same in each of the national rounds - replacing the sealing parts with housing on a Volkswagen engine.

Korneliusz Kąkol, representative of the Elring Company

One of the partners of Polish finale of the Young Car Mechanic Contest was also Foundation Cooperatio, which is promoting the job of a mechanic among young people. Its President, Adrian Dekowski, noticed advantages of such campaigns as Young Car Mechanic.

The whole undertaking is a great benefit for the garages, but also for the young people, who took a decision to take part in the Young Car Mechanic Contest. Thanks to the contest they have a possibility of obtaining practical skills, which are needed on the market, and on the one hand this enables them development, and on the other hand - decent remuneration. Participants of the national finale are a selected group of the most talented mechanics that is why the level of rivalry was really high. We have to keep in mind that they are very ambitious people who want to grow their qualifications, and reward in the contest is a milestone for them in their further career and professional development.

Adrian Dekowski

I am very pleased that we have so many young people, who took part in this year's edition of the Young Car Mechanic Contest and that they are representing schools taking part in Inter Cars project, Young HR. I wish to congratulate all the participants on huge knowledge and give my thanks to the whole team who organized the competition. Unfortunately not everyone can win today in the national finale, but you are all the winners for the future, as you have a possibility of developing you skills, and this will surely bring positive results in your adult lives, in line with the slogan „Young HR a springboard to the future

Robert Kierzek, Vice President of the Management Board of Inter Cars

The Young HR Project is first and foremost to help young people develop in the automotive industry. What is important is that it is held in the form of a contest, as this is the most meaningful and provides possibility of assessment of who of the participants was the best in comparison to all the rivals. This motivates young people to check themselves, but also encourages to further development and gaining skills

Marta Ciesielska, Coordinator of the Young HR Project

Similar opinion has Bartek Ostałowski, the only in the world drifter with a FIA licence, driving his car with no hands. At the age of 19 he had a motorbike accident during which he lost both his hands. Despite this tragic event he did not give up and is constantly fighting to make his dreams come true. Thanks to the support of Inter Cars, his car underwent a series of modifications which make it possible for him to compete with other contestants as peer to peer. The premiere of his new Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 also took place during the Poznań Motor Show

I think that Young Car Mechanic is a great initiative, enabling young people to present their skills and make their dreams come true. The competition gives them a possibility of verifying their knowledge, and thanks to the element of rivalry, they can compare their skills to their peers; see at what stage of development they are themselves. I would like myself to have a chance of taking part in such initiative, when I was their age, as Young Car Mechanic is an unrepeatable chance to gain new experiences and live through a great adventure

Bartosz Ostałowski

Participation in the national finale was the greatest adventure and will surely be long remembered by Jakub Koncewicz from Mechanical School (Zespół Szkół Samochodowych im. Stanisława Syroczyńskiego) in Lublin, who outran other young people and won with much more points than others.

I am really happy that I managed to win. I have not expected such an honour. I am happy even more, as all the tasks were on a really high level and one had to present a lot of knowledge in order to be able to deal with them. The most difficulty was given to me by an A/C system on a Citroen. The malfunction was hidden in such a way that I did not manage to find it

said Jakub Koncewicz.

I think that such initiatives like Young Car Mechanic are really necessary, and competitions cause development, drive education, so all the arguments are for not only continuing them, but also developing them. Victory in the national contest is not only prestige, but first and foremost personal development of students, and as a result also teachers, who need to do their share of work in order to prepare students in a suitable way. Victory of one of my pupils in the national finale of the Young Car Mechanic is not only my success, but also a success of other teachers, who prepared Jakub in previous years, sharing with him all the secrets of mechanics. We should bow in front of Professor Jan Treszczot, who has been preparing students for many years, but now, because of health problems, he cannot continue his educational mission. Today's victory is also a reward for many years of his involvement and hard work

Karol Mróz,winner caretaker

Three best contestants of qualifying round in Poznań are now getting ready to the International Finale of the Young Car Mechanic Contest, organized on the 14 May in Training Centre of Inter Cars in Cząstków Mazowiecki.